Discipline and Defiance / Practical Karate (podcast)

The podcast is back! Please accept my apologies for the delay between podcasts. Hopefully you will find it worth the wait! Seeing as you have been so patient, this podcast covers two topics in a kind of “double feature”!

The first subject is “Discipline and Defiance”. Discipline is something readily claimed as one of the positives of martial arts training. However, it’s not all positive and in this podcast I’d like to share my thinking on how discipline, of the wrong sort, can be problematic when it comes to both character development and the practical application of the martial arts. The other related subject we will be exploring is that of defiance. It’s is my view that martial training needs to develop a sense of defiance in order to optimise self-defence skills and develop character. I hope you find my thoughts on these two attributes interesting.

The second subject is “Practical Karate”. In that section I look at what the word “practical” actually means and therefore what attributes karate – or any other martial art for that matter – needs to have if it is to be correctly given the descriptive label of “practical”.

This was the first podcast recorded with some new equipment; which I’m still getting to grips with. It therefore sounds a little like I’m speaking to you with a bucket over my head! It’s still all very clear and is easy to listen to. However, the perfectionist in me will ensure that this is corrected for the next podcast … I think taking the bucket off my head is going to the key change I need to make 🙂

I also struggled to find an image for the podcast that conveyed the concept of “defiance”. I had taken a special picture of me throwing a traditional reverse punch in my gi with the “punching hand” inverted and the middle finger extended. It’s a good picture, but the more mature side of me decided not to run with it! I therefore used this picture taken recently during training for a piece on supplementary training that I’m working on. Hopefully the look on my face captures the defiance of the weight and the defiance of the discomfort … or maybe I should have gone with the original picture? 🙂

Thanks once again for all your patience and I hope you enjoy the podcast! Speak again soon!